Wow, I'm shocked at the low quality of some of this food. I try NOT to eat food loaded with trans-fats, high fructose corn syrup, and preservatives. Looks like that's exactly what Philmot is making us eat. Too bad we can't substitute with our own Mountain House or other, higher quality, dehydrated alternatives...

I used one of those folding windshield sunshades. Cut with the foil side in, into whatever shape and size you need. Then staple and tape it together. If you really want to make it easy just cut a piece big enough wrap your meal up in and secure it with rubber bands. Cheap, lightweight and works great.

The quickest, cheapest, easiest way is to use Reflectix. Buy a 24" roll at Home Depot or Lowes. Get a quart freezer bag. Cut the Reflectix so that it's 3/4" wider than the bag and about an inch shorter than twice the height of the bag. Fold in half and duct tape the sides together. One roll of Reflectix is enough for two crews.

If you have someone in your troop who sews, you can make cozies that have a nylon outer layer sewn to an inner insulation layer made of Insulbright (it's the stuff inside hot pads).

How did your shakedown trips go? Did you use all of your meals? Any changes to your cooking method?

In one of your posts you mentioned that you were going to use a MSR Reactor w/large pot and another MSR stove w/pot. Is that still your plan? I have a Reactor w/1.7 L pot and trying to decide if I need the larger pot. Also if I should go with a 2nd Reactor or another type stove with a standard pot.

I have 2 crews (one 12, one 9). Trying to decide what will be needed (stove and pot). Considering turkey bag or freezer bag cooking.

Yes, we used up all but a couple of our Philmont meals. We're gonna finish those off on a canoe trip the weekend after next.

Both of our crews LOVE the freezer bag cooking method. Our crew of 10 is using two Reactor stoves. One stove has a 2.5L pot and the other has the standard 1.5L pot. Start by lighting both stoves and pouring water in the smaller pot first. Then pour water in the bigger pot. The smaller pot will boil first. Have everybody drop their spoon in this pot for 10 seconds or so to sterilize them. Then go ahead and pour out the water into individual zip lock bags. It will be enough for 3 people. Refill that pot and start it boiling again. The water in the 2.5L pot and the second batch of water in the 1.5L pot will boil around the same time. Fill the rest of the zip locks and everybody's food is ready within 3-4 minutes of each other. Total time boiling is less than 10 minutes. Total time from start to eating is 20 minutes or less. There is no cleanup time, just putting all the used zip lock bags and food wrappers in one bigger zip lock "trash" bag.

I've been talking with another member who is concerned my method is too complicated for kids, but both of our crews grasped this right away. I think the key is to practice it. It is also important to have a long spoon. I can't stress how nice it is NOT to have to do KP after eating.

Also, concerning the Reactor stoves... they boil so fast that if you had two stoves with the smaller 1.5L pots it will still work. You'll just have to boil two pot-fulls on each stove at meal time. Everybody's meal will be ready within 3-4 minutes of each other. The first ones can just wait for everybody... the food will still be hot in the cozy.

When I say enough water for 3 people, I'm talking about three mouths. That is 1.5 meal packs. There are some packs that require 3 cups to rehydrate, which is 1-1/2 cups per person. If you push the capacity of the small Reactor pot you can get those 4-1/2 cups boiling in 3.5 minutes.

Not all meals require the same amount of water to rehydrate. It can be anywhere from 3/4 cup per person to 1-1/2 cups per person.

Each person uses one (1) quart-size Heavy Duty Zip Lock Freezer Bag per meal that has to be rehydrated.

Mark,Do you wash your spoons with soap/water or just lick them clean? Then sterilize before the next meal. Same thing with cups when they give you hot chocolate or cider. Just finger wash cups with warm water?

But if you follow good cleanliness protocol, why should there be a need to do anything you dont do on a normal campout or at home?

Is it really needed or is it "just in case" ?

Realize that its the "just in case" mentality that results in heavy packs.

If you lick a spoon clean, the remaining bacteria on it are from your own mouth. I personally have never gotten sick from a spoon I have licked clean, or a cup I have previously drank out of. Or even, my own toothbrush that I scrub my mouth with every day and just lightly rinse off without benefit of soap.

Just food for thought.

We have a lot of notions of how clean and sterile things must be, that are based on total folly and commercial marketing hype.

The real issue is hand cleanliness, especially after bathroom duties, and soap is more effective than sanitizer there too.

Thx for posting the pics of the "ration packs" . Question - does anyone know the approx wgt for a days food for two? I'm guessing about 2.0 lbs? So our crew of 12 will be stepping off with about 96 lbs for 4 days. Sound about right?

Sorry if I've missed this in the discussion but I believe the meals are based on the dates of your trek. I.E. If you arrive at PSR on July 8, your Day 2 (first hiking day), 3 and 4 meals will be #9, #10, and #11. This continues through the trek from what I've read.

We, too, purchased a sampling so the boys could get an idea of what the meals look like. We found that each boy's share of the food amounts to roughly two 2.5 gallon ziplocs for four days. To evenly distribute, each boy has two of these ziplocs with their names on them. We hope that this will expedite redistribution in the a.m. when the bear bags come down.

BTW, we're using the turkey bag method on MSR Pocket Rockets, with two 4 qt AL and 1 6 qt AL pots, all with cozies. Plan to heat water in the small pots for stability and safety. One for cleaning and one for rehydrating.

We haven't practiced much and fully expect a steep learning curve... Adventure Awaits!

Does Philmont require the water to be a rolling boil while sterilizing?

We are planning to use two Jetboil Sumo stoves for boiling water and the freezer bag method for dehydrating. The Sumo pot is tall and slender so will not allow some cups to be dipped into it for sterilizing. We'd prefer not to take an extra pot for the sole purpose of sterilizing. We were thinking of taking a Sea to Summit foldable water bucket and pour boiling water from the Sumo into it to use for sterilizing. The foldable water bucket is dual purpose to bring water back to camp for cooking.